


Time and Tide Wait For No Man

by orphan_account



Category: Torchwood
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-10
Updated: 2014-10-09
Packaged: 2018-02-20 13:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2431247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack wanted nothing more than to help her, but his prime concern was finding out what the hell she was. Somehow she manages to unintentionally wiggle her way into Jack's heart. Now he'll do anything to keep her safe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Third Person POV**

"Tell me again why weʼre here." Owen complained, getting out of the passenger side of the Torchwood SUV. "I got a call." Jack retorted. Owen rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag. "But what are we here for?" Suzie asked, strolling up next to Jack. Jack looked over at her and gave her a small smile. "A women called. Said her daughter was acting strangely. And not the normal teenager stuff either. The not so human stuff."

"Like what? And how did she get the number?" Suzie asked. Jack chuckled and put his hands in his pockets. "No clue. Guess weʼll just have to wait and see. And she said she got it from a Detective Inspector." he said as he walked up to the front door of the house they were called to. The house was painted white with a nice little garden in the front yard and on the porch was a green porch swing.

The part of town they were in was fairly nice. Sort of a sub-division, but not as crowded. "A little cliche if you ask me." Owen said quietly, walking up to stand next to Tosh as Jack knocked on the front door. "I guess itʼs a good thing no asked you." Tosh said sarcastically, smiling when Owen gave her a pointed look. "Professional, children." Jack said right before the front door of the house opened. In the door stood a tall red headed woman.

"Jack Harkness?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Jack couldnʼt help but think she sounded a little cold. "The one and only." he said, hiding his displeasure and extending his hand for her to shake. The woman looked at his hand with displeasure and turned back into the house, leaving the door open for them to follow her inside. Jack cleared his throat and turned around to face the others. "Seems like a charmer." Owen said sarcastically, crossing his arms. Jack grinned and headed into the house. He heard the door click behind him as the others followed. Jack followed the woman who had called him into the living room.

She sat down in a chair that was sitting in front of the fireplace. She motioned for Jack and the others to sit down as well. Owen sat down in the chair that sat on the other side of the fireplace, Tosh sat down on the couch, Suzie sat down next to Tosh on the couch, and Jack stood next to Owenʼs chair. "Excuse me, maʼam, but you never gave me your name." Jack said, looking at the photos that were displayed on the walls and shelves. "Maria Johnston, Mr. Harkness." she said. Jack rolled his eyes and kept looking at the photos. He heard Owen sigh lightly in frustration and he smirked a little. He could relate with Owenʼs annoyance. Heʼd have to drag information out of this woman. "Mrs. Johnston, which one of these is your daughter?" Jack asked, turning around to look at Maria. She cleared her throat and sat up straighter in her chair.

"None of them. I donʼt display photos of Kelly." she said and everyone in the room distinctly heard the disdain in her voice. "Mrs. Johnston, why exactly did you call us here? I thought you wanted us to help your daughter." Jack asked, annoyance showing in his voice. Maria stood up and stood in front of her chair. "Sheʼs not normal, Mr. Harkness. And sheʼs  _not_ my daughter." she said defensively. Jackʼs eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you mean sheʼs not your daughter. When you called Torchwood, you said that something happened to your daughter. You told me she was hit by a car and when the paramedics came, she had no pulse and got up as if nothing happened. If sheʼs not your daughter, then why did you call us?"

"Because sheʼs legally under my care, Mr. Harkness. Personally, Iʼd of gotten rid of her when she was a child, when it all started happening. I called because Iʼm worried about the safety of my own children. If it hadnʼt been for my late husband, this would have never happened in the first place." she said, the last part no more than a whisper.

"I want you three outside. Iʼll call when Iʼm ready for you." Jack said, referring to Suzie, Owen, and Tosh. Gwen and Tosh shared a look and Owen rolled his eyes. All three got up from their seats, nodded to Mrs. Johnston, and left the house. Jack waited a moment before taking his ear piece out and putting it in his pocket.

"I need you to tell me everything." he said, walking over and standing in front of Maria. She sighed and sat down, motioning for Jack to sit as well. Jack sat down and waited for her to start. "My husband was best friends with her father. I never really liked him. He never took anything seriously. They went to school together in London. His name was James. James had moved to America, but still kept in touch with Robert, my late husband. James met his wife while living in New York after three months of living in the states. Two years later they were engaged.

"We went to James and Sherryʼs wedding and a year later, Robert got a call from James, asking Robert to be their two week old daughter godfather. Of course Robert agreed. He was so happy they chose us. We didnʼt hear from them for six years besides the usual Christmas and birthday cards. Then we got a call from the authorities. James and his family had been attacked. They didnʼt tell us what happened, just that Kelly was the only survivor.

"She came here to live with us and things were normal for about a month. Then things started going bad. She started telling us things that no one had told her and she always knew what you were feeling.

"Then she started moving things without touching them. And now today, on her way home from school, she was hit by a drunk driver. The ambulance came and the paramedics said she was dead. She had no pulse. Then she opened her eyes and acted as if nothing happened. When the paramedic checked her again, her pulse was normal." she said, her voice shaky and frightened.

"Why do you fear for your children? Has she done anything in the past to cause them harm?" Jack asked, glancing over at the family photo on the wall. Maria and Robert had two children. Maria had already said she didnʼt have any photos of Kelly, so she was worried about her son and daughter.

"No, but when Robert died, Kelly viewed me as the enemy. We never really got along, sheʼs too much like her father in my opinion, but when Robert died, it got worse. She was seven at the time. As she got older, she started to resent me more and more. Now Iʼm afraid sheʼs going to do something to smite me and thatʼs going to be going after my children." she said, anger replacing any fear that had been in her voice. "Would it be alright if I met with her?" Jack asked. Maria nodded and stood up. Jack did the same and followed her up the stairs. All of the doors on the small hallway were painted different colors. One was blue, one was red, one was pink, and the last was purple. Before Maria opened the door, she turned to Jack.

"I should warn you. She doesnʼt like strangers. She tends to become defensive when she gets nervous or upset. I just thought Iʼd warn you." she said before knocking twice on the door. She waited a moment before opening the door. "Kelly, thereʼs someone here to talk to you." she said and Jack caught the way her tone changed. "Another psychologist?" came a voice from in the room and Jack was a little surprised that it was American. "Not this time. He wants to talk with you about earlier. He may be able to help." Mrs. Johnston said, walking into the room. Jack followed and looked around the room. I was abnormally plain for a teenagerʼs room. "Mr. Harkness, this is Kelly Nelson. Iʼll leave you two alone to talk. Kelly, be nice and respectful. We donʼt a repeat of the last time someone talked with you about this." Mrs. Johnston said, nodding to Jack and leaving the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Third Person POV**

Kelly closed the book she was reading when her "mother" left the room. "So, what makes you different from everyone else?" she asked coldly, sitting up in her bed and setting the book on her night stand. Jack smirked and walked forward, extending his hand for a hand shake. "I could say the same thing for you. Captain Jack Harkness from Torchwood." he said.

Kellyʼs eyes narrowed slightly and she crossed her arms over her chest. Jack drew his hand back and put them in his coat pockets. "A little on the cold side if you ask me, but then again, I would be too if Iʼd just been told I was supposed to be dead." he said. Kelly rolled her eyes and chuckled. "The key words in that statement are  _supposed to be_. And yet here I am." she said curtly, closing her eyes and resting her head on the headboard. There was a moment of silence before Kelly took a deep breath and opened her eyes, looking at Jack. "Look, Iʼm sorry. Iʼm not rude. Iʼm just very awkward." she said, blushing lightly and running a hand through her short dirty blond hair and avoiding looking at him. Jack laughed and walked over to her, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Youʼve also got a lot on your mind. Wanna talk about it?"

"Iʼd  _love_ to talk about it actually." she said, giving a small smile before pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on the tops of them. Jack stayed silent, waiting for her to continue. "Why arenʼt I dead? I should have died. That car hit me going at least forty! How am I sitting here talking with you?" she asked, looking Jack in the eyes as she spoke.

"I donʼt know." was all he could say. He felt bad for this girl. She was in the same boat as him and he wouldnʼt put his worst enemy through this. "Then why are you here?" she asked and Jack felt his heart sink at the sadness in her eyes.

"I donʼt know how, but I might be able to help you. We can have some tests done and see if thereʼs anything we can do." he said, giving her a small smile and placing his hand over hers. He gave it a small reassuring squeeze. Kelly looked at their hands and smiled slightly. "How is it that you barely have any idea who I am and youʼre going to try and help me?" she asked.

"Because no one should go through something like this alone." he said softly. "And besides, a pretty girl like you shouldnʼt have so much sadness in their eyes." he added, chuckling when she blushed lightly and looked away from him. "Your mother said you were coming home from school. What year are you in?" he asked, trying to get some background information on her while trying to get her comfortable talking with him. "This is my last year. Once Iʼm done there, I think Iʼm done with school for a while." she said with a chuckle. Jack couldnʼt help but smirk as he looked at the girl. "Not too fond of schooling Iʼm guessing." he said, hoping he could get her to talk about the things that had happened when she was younger at school.

Kelly just rolled her eyes and laughed. "You have no idea. Itʼs not very easy being an abnormal American girl in schools that have nothing but normal English girls." she said and Jack could tell she wanted to say something else, but was skeptical about telling him about it.

"Whatʼs wrong with being American?" he joked, grinning when she looked up at him confused. "I didnʼt mean-" she started, but stopped when Jack stopped her. "Iʼm messing with you. Us Americans need to stick together when weʼre surrounded by all these Welsh and Brits." he said, causing her to laugh.

He could tell she was relaxing more and started to relax himself. She was quiet for a moment before saying anything. "I donʼt feel anything from you." she said, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked at the end of her bed. Jack raised an eyebrow, but kept quiet."I can feel what everyone else is feeling. When Maria came in, all I could feel coming off from her was fear. But you, thereʼs nothing! Just...blank. I donʼt understand." she said, looking up at him at that point and looking into his eyes. "Youʼre not normal either." she said after a pause, her eyes softening as she looked into his.

"Thereʼs nothing wrong with being abnormal." he said, smiling at her and giving her a small wink. "Kelly, do you like it here? I mean, with Maria." he asked, becoming serious again. Kelly took a moment to think about the question. It wasnʼt that she didnʼt like it here, she just didnʼt feel welcome. She was grateful for everything Robert and Maria had done for her over the years, but she always felt out of place.

"No." she said simply after a moment of silence. Jack nodded and smiled at her again. "How would you like to get away? Learn to hone your abilities?" he asked. "Whatʼre you asking?" Kelly asked, looking at Jack confused."I guess you could say Iʼm offering you a job." he told her, grinning the entire time.

Kellyʼs eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up. "What kind of job?" she asked skeptically.

"Well, youʼd work for Torchwood. Youʼd become part of the team and youʼd have your own job. And in return, if youʼd like, we can have our medical officer do some tests and we might be able to tell you what makes you so different." he explained.

**Kellyʼs POV**

I was speechless. I kept trying to think of things to say, but was having a hard time  _thinking_ all together.

"What about Maria? Jordan and Sierra? Wonʼt they notice Iʼm gone?" I asked, not that I really cared what happened to them. I knew what happened when people became affiliated with Torchwood, youʼre not heard from very often. Thatʼs what happened to Brandonʼs cousin.

Jack took a deep breath before answering me. "Weʼd have to wipe their memories of you. They wonʼt remember anything." he said. I furrowed my eyebrows and sighed. What did it matter if they didnʼt remember me? They didnʼt want me here in the first place. "Iʼll do it." I said. "Whatʼs the point of staying somewhere Iʼm not wanted? Anyway, if I have the chance to find out whatʼs wrong with me, then maybe things will get easier." I added, smiling at the Captain. He smiled back and stood up from my bed. "Well then, Ms. Nelson, how about we shake on it?" he asked, offering his hand a second time. This time, however, I didnʼt hesitate to place my smaller hand in his larger one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Third Person POV**

Jack walked out of the front door of the Johnston home and headed for the SUV. "Howʼd everything go?" Suzie asked from the passenger seat. Jack smiled at all three of them and threw the keys to Owen, who was sitting on the ground with the backseat door supporting his weight.

Owen caught them and looked up at Jack confused. "Head back to the hub and take the rest of the day off. Itʼs only," he said, glancing at his watch, "A quarter past four. If anything comes up that I canʼt handle on my own, Iʼll call." Tosh and Suzie exchanged a look and then looked to Owen. He got up off the ground and got into the front seat. "If you say so." he said, starting the engine. They all made sure the doors were closed and the SUV left the driveway. Jack waited till it turned the corner of the street and turned back to the house to wait for Kelly.

**Kellyʼs POV**

I took one last look around my room and sighed. I never spent much time in here and thatʼs why everything was so bare. I hefted my bag onto my shoulder and went down stairs. I paused at the door and was about to turn back, but stopped when I heard Maria and Sierra laughing in the kitchen.

I pulled the front door open and ran right into Jack. He caught my shoulders just as I was about to fall over and helped me stand up straight again. "Oh god, Iʼm so sorry!" I said, holding onto his arms for support. He chuckled and shut the door for me. "Donʼt be. Iʼm pretty solid and not easily taken down." he joked.

"Are you alright?" he asked, pulling the strap of my bag up so it rested better on my shoulder, letting go of my shoulders. I couldnʼt help the blush that spread across my face. "Yeah. Iʼm just extremely klutzy." I admitted. I hated people seeing me like this. Iʼve never been the most graceful person, but I hated it when people saw how clumsy I could be.

"Ready? No good-byes?" Jack asked after a moment of silence, after Iʼd composed myself. I nodded my head. "Itʼs probably better if I just rip the band aid off quickly. Not that I have much attachment as it is." I said as we walked down the walkway. Jack nodded his head in understanding.

"I thought we could walk. Itʼs not that far from here, about ten minutes. If thatʼs okay with you." he said, looking down at me. I chuckled and nodded. "Perfectly fine with me." We spent half of the walk in a comfortable silence until Jack broke it with a question. "When you said you didnʼt have any attachments, what did you mean?"

"Well, I was never really home. I was either at school or Brandonʼs house." I said as we came up to a crosswalk. "And Brandon is who? Your boyfriend?" he asked. He looked down at me funny when I started laughing. "Oh god no!" I said through breaths. "Brandon and I have been friends since early primary school. I found out when we were about twelve that he was gay." I explained.

"Ah, I see. That makes a little more sense. Not sporting the right equipment for him." he said, grinning. I laughed even more and nodded. "Will he remember me?" I asked after my laughter died down a little.

Jack looked over at me and sighed. "I canʼt promise anything, but if it doesnʼt interfere with anything weʼre doing, then yes, heʼll keep all of his memories of you. There is one thing that Iʼm going to require if you start working at Torchwood. You have to maintain some kind of life outside. If that means spending weekends at this Brandonʼs place or even just spending a couple of hours after work doing anything else, then do it." he told me seriously.

The rest of the walk, Jack asked me about Brandon and our friendship. How when I had first met him, I hated him. Then a few years later we became inseparable. How we were in every school play or musical that was offered and how he had to drag me out on stage the first few times. "I hated being on stage in front of hundreds of people. It made me feel so nervous and I didnʼt want to make a fool of myself." I said, laughing lightly as we sat on one of the benches near the water tower.

"After those first couple of times, the nervousness died off and I  _loved_ being on stage. I guess I just stopped worrying about all the people in the audience and started focusing on my lines or notes so I wouldnʼt forget them." I added, looking down at my feet as I spoke. "What was your favorite?" Jack asked, causing me to look up at him.

"Um, Iʼd have to say my favorite play to do was  _Hamlet_ and my favorite musical to do was  _Cabaret_. They were probably the most challenging and entertaining to perform." I answered after some thought. "Really? What parts did you play?" he asked.

"Hamlet in  _Hamlet_ and Sally Bowles in  _Cabaret_." I answered, blushing a little. "Wow. Thatʼs impressive. Two very difficult roles to pull off. But Iʼm sure you did wonderful." he said, standing up and offering his hand to help me up. I didnʼt answer, but blushed darker at the compliment and took his hand silently.

"Time to introduce you to your new home for as long as you stay." he said, grinning at me and pulling me over to a slab in front of the water tower. I looked up at him questioningly and smiled when he winked and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. I followed him without question onto the slab.

I moved closer to Jack and gripped his arm as the slab started to move down. I was more than glad he didnʼt say anything about it and just let me cling to him until we made it to more solid ground. "You okay?" he asked, helping me down. "Yeah. Just slightly terrified of heights." I squeaked, glaring at Jack when he started laughing.

"How can you be slightly terrified of something?" he asked, leading me through what looked like an underground science lab. "I donʼt know how it works, it just does." I defended. "As long as it works for you." he said, leading me down a hallway that had multiple doors leading to god know where.

He stopped at one of the doors and turned to me. "This will be your room for your stay here. Because youʼre underaged and I still need to follow the law to some extent, I will have to put a curfew on you for a while. Just know that itʼs not that  _I_ donʼt trust you. Iʼve only known you for a few hours and I can tell youʼd never go back on your word." he told me.

I didnʼt know why, but it made me happy to know that he trusted me even though weʼd known each other for such a short time.

"Well, Iʼll let you get settled in and then you and I can spend some time together and weʼll get to know each other better. I gave everyone else the day off, so itʼll be nice to have a day off as well." he said, smiling as he opened the door and let me walk through. "When youʼre done, go to the end of this hall and go to the left. Thatʼll bring you back to the central part of the hub. Weʼll meet back up there." he said.

I nodded and waited until he was down the hall and out of sight before I let out a breath. I opened the door and looked around my room. I smiled a little and walked in. It wasnʼt fancy or anything, but it was nice. Cozy even. There was a full size bed in the middle of the room, a dresser in the left side corner opposite of the door, a night stand next to the bed with a lamp, and a door that presumably led to a bathroom.

The walls were painted a light blue and the floor was covered in tan carpet. I walked in and set my bag on the bed, sitting on the edge. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. Looking through my notification, I noticed that Brandon had texted me three time.

_Donʼt forget about practice after school on Monday.-Brandon_

I sighed to myself and threw my phone on the end table. I reached over to my bag and started going through my things. Most of it was clothes, but there were a few things that that held sentimental value. The book my mother had read to me when I was little, before she had died. My dadʼs old zippo lighter that he took everywhere with him. And the blanket that had my name embroidered into it that Brandon had given me for my sixteenth birthday.

Setting the book and zippo in the drawer in the nightstand and the blanket across the bed, I got up and put the clothing that I had chosen to bring with me into the dresser.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Kellyʼs POV**

I walked into the central part of the hub and nearly screamed when someone tapped me on the shoulder. Spinning around, I clutched my chest and tried to calm my breathing when it was only Jack behind me. "Good god, donʼt scare me like that." I said after I could speak without my voice cracking.

"Sorry." he said, putting his hands in his slack pockets. I rolled my eyes and chuckled, turning around and looking around. "So this is Torchwood." I said, looking around me in awe. I had to be honest with myself, it was wonderful. There was so much technology that could be explored.

"What do you think?" Jack asked, brining me out of my thoughts. I turned around and looked at him. "Itʼs wonderful!" I said, throwing my arms around his neck and giving him a hug. I felt him chuckle and return the hug.

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**Third Person POV**

Jack was more than surprised when Kelly threw her arms around his neck in a hug, but returned the hug nonetheless. "Thank you. This means so much to me." she said into the hug. All of a sudden, she pulled away. "Iʼm sorry. I didnʼt mean to-" she started, but stopped when Jack put his hand over her mouth.

"You need to stop apologizing." he said, smiling down at her and removing his hand. Kelly nodded and kept her mouth shut. Jack chuckled and walked over to grab his coat. He walked back over, fixing the collar along the way. "I didnʼt realize it was so late. Letʼs go get something to eat. Iʼm starving." he said, offering her his hand.

Kelly smiled and took his hand, following him out of the hub.

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They spent the rest of the night talking and learning about each other. Jack learned that Kelly hated spiders, loved to read, her favorite movie was  _Titanic_ , her favorite book was  _Les Miserables_ , her favorite color was navy blue, and her birthday was June sixth. In return, Kelly learned about what had happened to Jack. Neither of them knew why Jack was opening up to her like this, but Jack felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He now had someone he could talk to and it made him feel better. As they walked back to the hub, he had never felt this comfortable talking about what had happened to anyone else After some thought, he put it off as it just being that she could somewhat relate.

"Thatʼs terrible." she said, bringing her jacket closer to her body as a gush of air rushed past the two. "I guess itʼs not so bad. Iʼve gotten to see so many things over the years. Met some wonderful people and some not so pleasant people over the years." he told her, looking up at the night sky.

"Do you think heʼs still out there?" Kelly asked, looking up at the sky as well. Jack looked down at Kelly and smiled. "Yeah. I think heʼs out there doing what heʼs always done. Saving something, no matter who or what it is."

They stayed silent for some time until Jack noticed Kelly shiver slightly. He placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled when she looked at him. "Letʼs get inside, you look cold." he told her, leading her over to the stone slab. Kelly reluctantly followed him onto the slab and clung to his arm for a second time that day as they started to descend. As soon as the slab made a solid stop, Kelly spent no time in getting off the contraption. Jack laughed and followed her. "You know, if you donʼt like the lift, all you have to do is say so and we can take the ʻvisitorsʼ entrance." he said, smirking as Kelly blushed at being caught. "Itʼs not that I donʼt like it, Iʼm just acrophobic. Besides that, I think itʼs wonderful technology." she said.

Jack chuckled and glanced down at his watch. It was getting pretty late and he knew Kelly had school in the morning, but he wanted to show her how to get around so she didnʼt get lost. "Okay, well, so you donʼt get lost tomorrow trying to get out of here, this is what we call the main hub. Up those stairs is my office, down those stairs is the med bay, and down that hall is the way to your room, archives, and the cells.

Through the big round door is the way to the tourist office. All you have to do is follow the corridor and when you want to come back through that way, thereʼs a button on the other side of the counter. Shouldnʼt be too hard to find." he explained, showing her around and pointing to each doorway. "This place is huge! How am I supposed to get around her without getting lost?" Kelly said, spinning around to look at Jack. Jack just laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "Donʼt worry. Youʼll get used to it soon enough." Kelly rolled her eyes and smiled. "Thanks again, Jack. This really does mean a lot to me." she said, wrapping her arms around him in a quick hug. She pulled away before Jack even registered what was going on and ran down the corridor that lead to her new room. "See you tomorrow, Jack!" she called before disappearing entirely down the hall.

Jack only smirked, put his hands in his pockets, and made his way to his office. With a huff, Jack sat down in his desk chair and relaxed. He felt like a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he didnʼt feel like he was completely alone anymore. Smiling to himself, Jack got up and shut the hub down before heading down into his bunker for the night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**Kellyʼs POV**

I groaned when I heard the offending blare of my phone and was tempted to fling it across the room. Deciding that wouldnʼt do anyone any good, I sat up and shut off the alarm. I blindly stepped out of bed and headed for the bathroom, intending on taking a shower.

Twenty minutes later, I walked out of my room with my bag slung over my shoulder and my phone up to my ear. "You know, you called at the worst of times." I said, annoyance clear in my voice as I yawned.  _ʻI know, but do you need me to pick you up?ʼ_ Brandon said on the other side. From the way he sounded, I could tell he was wide awake. "No. Iʼll walk this morning. Itʼs supposed to be nice anyways." I said, making my way through the corridors.

**Third Person POV**

Jack looked up from his paperwork when he heard someone talking. He smiled when he saw Kelly walking into the central hub talking on the phone. He assumed she was talking with Brandon. He liked the idea of her being able to have someone outside of Torchwood she could talk to and be ʻnormalʼ with.

He chuckled when he saw her give the invisible lift a bad look and headed for the cog door. Luckily the hub was only about fifteen minutes away from the school and it was supposed to be a nice day today.

It had been a couple of hours since Kelly left that everyone started coming in. Once Owen, the last one to show up, finally arrived, Jack called a meeting. He decided it would be better to give the team a heads up about Kelly before just introducing her. As he explained her situation, the group seemed enthralled by his theories.

"But howʼs that possible?" Suzie asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "People donʼt just get hit by cars and then get up like nothingʼs happened."

"Maybe sheʼs not human." Tosh offered. "If she werenʼt human, our scanners would have picked it up." Owen responded, killing Toshʼs idea. "Not necessarily. Thereʼs always a possibility. Thatʼs why, once sheʼs more comfortable here, Owen will be doing some tests to find out if she is or not." Jack said, bringing life back to the possibility. Owen nodded and started jutting notes down on a small note pad.

The rest of the meeting was about what was to be done for that day. There were no rift predictions for some time, so it was decided that everyone would work on personal projects in case an emergency came up.

"Oh come on! Thatʼs not fair!" Kelly complained as her and Brandon sat in the auditorium. "Too bad, Nelson. You and Brandon need to do these parts. Youʼre the only two who would be able to do them without it getting awkward." Mrs. Baker said, handing the two of them packets of paper.

Kelly groaned and slumped in the chair she was sitting in, the back of her neck hitting the top of the back of the chair. "Iʼve never like  _West Side Story_. The music sucks." Brandon complained as well, causing Kelly to snicker. "I think we should have stuck with  _Gypsy_. I could have been Mama Rose." Brandon said, kicking his legs up to they were resting on the chair in front of him. "I could have been Rose Lee." Kelly said sadly.

Brandon gave Kelly a weird look and they both burst out laughing. Mrs. Baker just rolled her eyes and walked away. "Just memorize your lines and the music. Itʼs still a grade." she called, heading behind the stage and into her office. "This sucks. I was looking forward to  _Gypsy_." Brandon said, quickly looking through the packet and over their lines. Kelly groaned and rested her head on Brandonʼs shoulder.

He chuckled and rested his head sideways on hers, closing his eyes. The chatter in the room from their other classmates was minimal and Kelly was content enough to sleep, but decided against it because she knew Brandon would probably do something evil while she was asleep. "Come on." Brandon said, shrugging the shoulder Kelly was resting her head on. "Letʼs get out of here. I didnʼt eat lunch and Iʼm starving." he said, getting up and offering Kelly his hand.

Kelly took it and almost fell forward when he tugged her up. She hit him in the arm once he started laughing at her and that caused him to laugh even harder. She rolled her eyes and turned away to leave the auditorium. Brandonʼs laughing died down and he ran to catch up with Kelly before she could leave him completely behind.

They spent about an hour at a small cafe joking around and eating their delayed lunch. Once they were done, Brandon asked Kelly if she wanted a ride home. She told him that he could drop her off at the Roald Dahl Plass. He gave her a funny look, but didnʼt it without question. Kelly got out of his car and walked around to the driverʼs side. "Hey, I just want you to know that some things are going to be changing. Nothing big, just things like you wonʼt have to pick me up in the morning anymore and I wonʼt need to stay at your place very much anymore." she said seriously, leaning on the driverʼs side door.

"Okay. Is everything alright?" Brandon asked, looking up at his long time friend with concern. She smiled down at him and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. "Everythingʼs perfectly fine. No need to worry about me. Iʼll see you tomorrow, yeah?" she asked, standing up straight again and putting her hands in her jacket pockets. Brandon smiled back and started the car back up.

"Alright. Yeah, Iʼll see you tomorrow. Be careful and text me when you get the chance." he said. Kelly nodded and stepped back so he could pull away and back onto the road. "He seems very pleasant." came a voice from behind her, causing her to jump and spin around. Jack gave her a large smiled and nodded to the way Brandonʼs car had drove off to. "Iʼm guessing that was Brandon." he said.

Kelly nodded and started walking towards the tourist office. "Very handsome. Love the light blue eyes. They set off the dark hair and fair complexion." he said, causing Kelly to laugh as they walked. "Iʼm sure heʼd be glad to hear that, but I donʼt think his ego needs anymore of a boost. He likes to think heʼs ʻirresistibleʼ enough as it is." she said with a chuckle.

Jack grinned and lead her to the coffee shop not too far from the hub.


End file.
